An experimental study of aerodynamic drag on high-speed train

Abstract

A series of wind tunnel tests were conducted for Korean high-speed train model with various shape components to assess the contributions to aerodynamic drag. In order to elucidate the ground effects, two different wind tunnels, one with a moving ground system and the other with a fixed ground, were used for the same model and the results of both were compared and analyzed in detail. The results show that a suitable ground simulation is necessary for the test of a train model with many cars and detailed underbody. But the relative difference of the drag coefficients for the modifications of shape components can be measured by a fixed ground test with high accuracy and low cost. The effects of the nose shape, the inter-car gap and the bogie-fairing on total drag were discussed and some ideas were prosed to decrease the aerodynamic resistance of high speed train.